Tag Archives: New Mexico

“… [T]he difference of having three women on the Supreme Court. I think that all the justices obviously are important in that court, but it really makes a difference to begin to have a court that more reflects the diversity of this country, and I think women who can really speak from a woman’s point of view, just how impactful these kind of laws that specifically target women and women’s access to health care, how impactful they are. And I was really grateful to have the women’s voices in the room.”

Courting women. Let’s snatch that phrase from the parlor in a Jane Austen novel and lob it into the Supreme Court chambers, making courting not the passive “pick me” word of yesteryear, but an assertive “empower me” word of today.

Power, judiciously applied, is what Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan demonstrated during oral arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. They formed a tag team of relentless logic, assertiveness, and deep understanding of the predicament of women in Texas needing timely, accessible abortion care — and not getting it. The court was probing two provisions of Texas HB2, the law that requires that (1) physicians performing abortions must have admitting privileges at a hospital near their clinics and (2) all abortions must be performed in ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs, mini-hospitals). (See SCOTUSblog “Round Up” and Roe v. Wade: Texas Then and Now for additional background on this important case.)

June is often known as a big month for weddings. Last June, that was more true than ever as a political battle over the right to marry was in front of the Supreme Court.

In the spring and early summer of 2013 and the days and weeks leading up to the decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, it was clear that no matter what that case decided about same-sex marriage, the public had decided in favor of marriage equality. Hollingsworth v. Perry challenged Proposition 8, a California same-sex marriage ban that was passed by voter initiative in 2008. The plaintiffs in the case charged that Proposition 8 violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

Arizona was the first state to defeat a ballot initiative against marriage equality, but it still doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage today.

Interest built as the case made its way through the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. The attorneys challenging the ban were themselves a sign of the change taking place in the United States, as former rivals in the Bush v. Gore trial — the Supreme Court trial over the disputed 2000 presidential election — joined forces to challenge Proposition 8. David Boies, a Democrat who had represented Al Gore, joined Theodore Olson, a Republican who had represented George W. Bush.

Before agreeing to serve as counsel for the plaintiffs, Olson had been approached by backers of Proposition 8 to serve as their counsel. Olson declined on the grounds that the law was contrary to both his legal and personal views. However, a high-profile Republican had made the case that the tide was turning, and polling before the Hollingsworth decision provided proof in numbers. Support for marriage equality was growing across all major demographic sectors, and 14 percent of those polled by the Pew Research Center had switched from opposing to supporting marriage equality. A CBS News poll showed that a 53-percent majority now supported same-sex marriage. Alex Lundry, a data scientist who had worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, called it “the most significant, fastest shift in public opinion that we’ve seen in modern American politics.” At the same time, celebrities ranging from hip-hop artist Jay-Z to Baltimore Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo joined the fray as allies. Continue reading →

Anti-choice ignoramus Lindsey Graham is absolutely positive that prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks is going to result in great things! (HuffPo)

Instead of taking their asses somewhere to help babies who’ve been born already, a bunch of #$%&^@# in New Mexico are tooling around in a van with graphic, gory (and probably fake) images of “late-term” fetuses who’ve supposedly been aborted. (Think Progress)

Just because you sign my paycheck doesn’t mean you get to dictate what I do with my uterus. When will that register with these people?!?!? (NYT)

OK, girls, let’s have a chat — if you don’t want to get pregnant, please use contraception. Don’t assume you have special uterine powers that will automatically repel an embryo from showing up at your uterus’ door. (Jezebel)

Politicos who try to interfere with women’s use of birth control are in for a rude awakening come election time. #StartPackingYourBags (PolicyMic)

Get a load of this tripe: The buffoon known as Rush Limbaugh thinks women have no agency in their reproductive choices and are being “turned into abortion machines” by Democrats. (MSNBC)

Interesting Slate piece on how the victims of the Hitler regime are affecting the abortion debate. (Slate)

A federal district court has decided that emergency contraception must be sold over the counter without any age restrictions. WOOO HOOO! (WaPo)

In a rare moment of common sense, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has decided to end her (losing) battle with Planned Parenthood. (RH Reality Check)

Why the pro-choice community needs to talk about the horrifying Gosnell abortion trial. (Jezebel)

A bill defining life at the “moment of fertilization” has been sent to the governor of Kansas to be signed into law after passing in both the state House and Senate. Ten bucks says another state will try to trump this ruling by declaring “life at the moment of ejaculation.” (Ms. Magazine)

Sorry, anti-choicers, you can no longer give away “fetus dolls” to students in New Mexico. (Raw Story)

Alabama is trying to go the way of its suckatcular neighbor, Mississippi, with regard to new stipulations on abortion clinics. (CNN)

A rash of radical “heartbeat” abortion bans are a growing threat to Roe v. Wade. (MSNBC)

Compared to those born in the 1970s, teens today are waiting longer to have sex. (Guttmacher)

Forbes rightly deduces that all the controversy over contraception misses the economic point. (Forbes)

News that should surprise no one: Abortions in Arizona are up 25 percent this year. Thank you, Jan Brewer and our craptastic legislators. (AZ Daily Sun)

Oh, but the Center for Arizona Policy (aka big time anti-choice lobby) disagrees with these facts. (East Valley Tribune)

Women are befuddled about birth control and I can’t help but wonder why. It’s not like our education system focuses mostly on only teaching abstinence, or that most parents don’t take the time to talk about sex and reproductive health with their children! #Sarcasm (Toronto Sun)

Speaking of parents failing their children with regard to sex ed … (Think Progress)

Dear anti-choicers: All of the roadblocks you put in front of women seeking abortions — mandatory ultrasounds, various arbitrary waiting periods, forcing them to listen to propaganda prior to having an abortion — ultimately have no effect on abortion rates. Know why? Because they don’t get to the core of why women have abortions. These obstacles are rooted in the false assumption that women are ignorant and not fully capable of making proper decisions about their bodies, and thus need to be educated about abortion. Because none of those things is true, your tactics, predictably, are failing to do what you intended them to do — reduce abortions. Feel free to try again, but only with tactics that are considerably less stupid. For instance, access to affordable contraception and comprehensive sex ed. That’d be a good start! (Salon)

Ann Romney does not wish to discuss serious world issues like birth control or same-sex marriage because those topics are not what this election is about. She’d much rather talk about what kind of husband and father Mitt is. After all, that’s what is on the minds of Americans. Is Mitt a nice dad? Is he good to his wife? Then obviously he’s qualified to lead the nation and serve as commander in chief. Duh. She also says those issues distract from the real issues: jobs and the economy. (WaPo)

Uh, Earth to Ann: Birth control is an economic issue. A woman’s ability to control her own fertility will be the most important factor in dictating her professional and socio-economic status. (Jezebel)

“Forcible rape” language is still all the rage among the anti-choice crowd. This time it’s New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who proposes the state needs proof of “forcible rape” in applications for child care assistance. I wish this were some kind of a joke. (RH Reality Check)